Excellent Dog House!

Posted by Unknown on 9th Nov 2011

I hesitated purchasing this because while I heard it was the best dog kennel on the market, I heard 'horror stories' about the assembly process of the DDI. I have a working german shepherd and wanted something that could keep her warm while she spent her first winter outside in subzero temperatures in upstate NY, so I was very careful to ensure whatever house I got her was the best on the market. Many working dog people have the 'throw her in an igloo, she'll be fine' mentality but I figured I would want substantial and heated accommodations, so why make the dog sleep in anything less? I did think the all stainless steel variety was much sharper looking than the DDII (just my opinion) so even though it was more labor intensive, I went with my gut and got it. Came promptly after purchase and admittedly, I put it off for about a week (being nervous about how frustrated I might get w assembly problems). Well, I can happily say I gave it a go this afternoon and wasn't disappointed with the process or end result. Very good quality dog house, first of all. Initially, it comes in a million flimsy looking pieces of aluminum, styrofoam, and plastic liner, but as it slowly comes together, piece by piece, you start to appreciate the quality of craftsmanship that went into designing this thing. Though assembly did take a few hours, most of the time was spent doing tedious pop rivets (which i've never used before) and double checking what needed to be done for the next step to make sure no errors occurred. Also, I stained the wooden foot supports 'black' to make the house look even better. Honestly, take a Sunday afternoon where you have nothing better going on, set up shop in the garage, and start knocking this thing out. It was done in no time and didn't even give me a headache! Sure it was over twice as expensive as a cheap plastic house from a local pet store but I am totally satisfied and comfortable leaving my girl out there in the cold weather while away. She'll be just as comfortable sleeping out there in her DDI than if she was stuck jammed in a crate inside the house.